Explanation of Bernouilli's principal of lift?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around Bernoulli's principle as it relates to lift, particularly in the context of aerodynamics and wing design. Participants seek clarification and visual aids to better understand the concept.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants express a need for simpler explanations and diagrams to grasp the complexities of Bernoulli's principle. Others suggest resources that provide visualizations and alternative explanations, while questioning the assumptions made about airflow over wings.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively sharing resources and suggestions for further reading. There is an acknowledgment of the need for more accessible explanations, and some guidance has been offered regarding the assumptions underlying the principle of lift.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note their unfamiliarity with the technical language of physics, indicating a potential barrier to understanding the topic fully. There is also mention of the complexity involved in applying the Bernoulli equation to real-world scenarios.

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Does anyone have a diagram and/or explanation of Bernouilli's principal of lift?
 
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Ummm, maybe somethin g less complicated, i am new to physics and i do not understand all of the lingo yet.
 
Take a look at the link posted there by pervect. It is from a NASA site.
 
xckycheezwhizx said:
Does anyone have a diagram and/or explanation of Bernouilli's principal of lift?
I STRONGLY advise you to follow Clausius2's suggestion of using pervect's link.
It's an excellent source.

Just a hint, though:

Let us take the simplest case, and just assume that the air always flows smoothly over the wing. (much of the technicality in my thread is to problematize just that assumption)

Because a wing is typically "downwardly curved", saying that the air always follows the wing is the same as to say that the wing pushes the air downwards. (Think about that..)

But since then the wing push the air downwards, the air will push the wing upwards, according to Newton's 3.law.
That is, we have lift!

This is, I think, the simplest way of visualizing how the lift is achieved;
note, however, that more detailed arguments is needed to make your ideas rigourous (Jeff Reid&Clausius make several important observations here).

So, as long as you haven't learned all the maths yet, I advise you to forget about the "Bernoulli equation".
Its role in an actual lift situation is rather tricky, many have misunderstood how it should be applied.

Again, go to pervect's link; it's one of the best non-mathematical sources I've seen which visualize the lift situation.
 
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